Daily Archives: April 11, 2013

Allenstein

Posted on April 11, 2013 by davidseurope

ALLENSTEIN Town in the Bishopric of Ermeland, which became part of Poland in 1466 and of Prussia in 1772.   In 1920 it was the principal town in the plebiscite area in southern East Prussia, set up by the Treaty of … Continue reading →

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Alicante

Posted on April 11, 2013 by davidseurope

ALICANTE The southernmost province (A) of the Valencia autonomous community in eastern Spain, named after its capital (Alacant in Catalan), which lies on the Mediterranean.   Denia on the coast in the northeast of the province was once the capital of … Continue reading →

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Algeciras

Posted on April 11, 2013 by davidseurope

ALGECIRAS A Taifa Kingdom in Moslem Spain, 1035-55, named after its capital, which stands on the Bay of Algeciras opposite Gibraltar and which was founded in 713 early in the Moslem conquest, as al-Gezira al-Khadra (the green island). Its only … Continue reading →

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Algarve

Posted on April 11, 2013 by davidseurope

ALGARVE Province in the far south of Portugal;  its name comes from the Arabic al-Gharb, meaning the West.   The Moslem al-Gharb was much more extensive than the later Algarve, similar to the Roman province of Lusitania, which combined most of … Continue reading →

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Alföld

Posted on April 11, 2013 by davidseurope

ALFÖLD Geographical region, known in English as the Great Hungarian Plain.   It is crossed by the Rivers Danube, beyond which the Romans did not advance, and Tisza.   The Plain was later settled by the Huns in the 5th century, by … Continue reading →

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Alessandria

Posted on April 11, 2013 by davidseurope

ALESSANDRIA    City (its district is the Alessandrino) and province in northwestern Italy.    The city, which stands on the River Tanaro, a tributary of the Po, lies ESE of Turin and southwest of Milan.   It was built by the anti-Imperial Lombard … Continue reading →

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Alentejo

Posted on April 11, 2013 by davidseurope

ALENTEJO    Or, ALEMTEJO. Old province in the south, though not the far south, of Portugal;  its name means beyond the Tejo (Tagus);  it was sometimes called Entre Tejo e Guadiana (i.e. between those two rivers).   Between the 1130s and 1230s … Continue reading →

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Alençon

Posted on April 11, 2013 by davidseurope

ALENÇON   (1) Medieval County (later Duchy) in northern France; and (2) a généralité during the Ancien Régime, named after a Norman town (on the borders with Maine), which stands on the River Sarthe, a tributary of the Loire. From the … Continue reading →

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Alderney

Posted on April 11, 2013 by davidseurope

ALDERNEY   Aurigny. The third largest of the Channel Islands, and a dependency of Guernsey.

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Alcántara

Posted on April 11, 2013 by davidseurope

ALCÁNTARA     Military religious Order in Spain, founded in the Kingdom of León, c.1175, as the Order of San Julián de Pereiro, which was a monastery close to Portugal and WSW of Salamanca.   The Order was linked at first with … Continue reading →

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